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Dracula
Dracula (also known as Mathias Cronqvist or Vlad Tepes, the original intention of the name Vlad Țepeș) is the major antagonist of the Castlevania series. He is the final boss in almost all of the games, except the first and the last two games in the timeline's chronology (Lament of Innocence, Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow). He is loosely based on the character of the same name in Bram Stoker's Dracula and the historical figure, Vlad the Impaler. Originally a human called Mathias Cronqvist, Dracula fell into madness after the death of his first wife, and became an immortal vampire thanks to the powers of the Crimson Stone. With his dark powers, he built his army of creatures and his fortress, Castlevania. Since the 11th Century, the Belmont Clan stood in opposition to Dracula, and legendary warriors confronted him each time he came back from the dead. He eventually got definitively destroyed in 1999 by the last descendant of the Belmonts. Story 1094: Events of Lament of Innocence The man later known as Dracula was originally born Mathias Cronqvist. Sometime during the mid to late 11th Century, he served in a company of knights alongside then Baron Leon Belmont. With Mathias' brilliant military strategies, and Leon's skill with a sword, their company was unstoppable. Little is known of Mathias' early life or his family, save that they seem to have been longtime practitioners of Alchemy and had advanced further into the study than most alchemists could have ever dreamed. Mathias was very well educated, and quite skilled in the art, though he never told Leon or any of his other compatriots of his knowledge, with the notable exception of Rinaldo Gandolfi, whom he had met at an unspecified time. Mathias married a woman named Elisabetha who he was deeply in love with. While away on a campaign against heathens in the east, Elisabetha died due to illness. Upon returning and learning of her death, Mathias was overtaken with despair so profound that he became bedridden, presumably worrying Leon considerably, as Mathias was the strategist and tactician of the company. During that time, Mathias grew angry at God for allowing Elisabetha to die such an early death while he was away risking his life and fighting in God's name. He thought it was unjust and unfair for God to take away what mattered most to him, when he had given God so much, and when Elisabetha was such a pure and blameless woman who did not deserve to die. Mathias began searching for ways to become immortal and show God that He didn't have a final say in everything, and that he could defy God's decrees by existing outside them, and scorning God in his eternal life. He learned about the Crimson Stone, considered to be a treasure among vampires. Through some means, the stone came into Mathias' possession, and he planned to use it to ascend to immortality. Through his acquiring the arcane relic, an evil deity known as Death bound himself in servitude to Mathias, as Death would only follow he who controlled the Crimson Stone. With the stone, Mathias could not only control the powerful spirit creature, but also absorb the souls of slain vampires and add their powers to his own. As an effect of this, humanity would be lost, and he would become a vampire himself. The young Knight then had all the resources he needed to plan his scheme to become an immortal. Mathias eventually came in contact with a powerful Vampire Lord named Walter Bernhard, who had somehow obtained the Ebony Stone, another vampiric treasure that locked his forested realm and castle in eternal night, thereby making him the most powerful vampire. The only thing of value that Walter desired was the Crimson Stone, which was believed to be lost for ages, but was secretly held by Mathias. The vampire was bored due to his own immortality, and in order to distract himself from that, he enjoyed playing life and death games with brave humans. To raise the stakes of the game - to make the human more interested - he would steal that which is most precious from his target. Mathias suggested targeting Sara Trantoul to Walter, the fiancée of Leon Belmont. The knight would make an interesting player in Walter's game, because according to Mathias' stories, his combat prowess was second to none. Walter, who didn't realise he was being tricked, ordered his forces to invade Leon's domain in order to capture Sara. All went according to Mathias' ingenious plan; Leon went to Walter's castle to save Sara, and due to a series of planned events, was able to defeat Walter. When Walter was dying, Death appeared and took his soul and granted the vampire's power to Mathias, who had materialized in the castle. It was only in his final moments that Walter realized what was happening, and what Mathias' true intentions were. Due to absorbing Walter's soul, Mathias became the most powerful vampire, though the Ebony Stone eluded him, as it was destroyed in Leon and Walter's battle. Mathias then declared that he had never spent a better night, and gave Leon his gratitude. A confused Leon demanded an explanation, to which Mathias replied that he needed a powerful vampire's soul, and he knew that Leon had it in him to destroy Walter so that he could take the soul. Leon sensed a rage from the Vampire Killer Whip, which he used to kill Walter, and asked in disbelief if his best friend had abandoned humanity. Mathias confirmed this and revealed his motive. He admitted that everyone involved in the ordeal were just pawns in his plan to become the most powerful vampire and curse God forevermore because of God's cruelty. Mathias then offered Leon eternal life as he too suffered over the death of his beloved. Leon refused, because eternity without the one he loved would be empty, and Mathias' twisted plan had cost Sara her life. Mathias believed that Leon out of all people would be the one to understand him, but when that wasn't the case, he became a bat and flew away, and the two would never meet again. Mathias went in hiding in foreign lands and he continued to curse God. Eventually, he named himself Lord of the Vampires and King of the Night. 1094-1476: Interlude At some point during Mathias's unholy life, he built a magic castle in the province of Wallachia where he would recruit humans and other beings who had turned their back on God, or were shunned by the light. Mathias granted some of them the forbidden knowledge of Devil Forgery and allowed them to practice their rites in his castle. One day, he met a kind woman named Lisa, with whom he would eventually become romantically involved. She reminded Mathias very much of Elisabetha, which was mostly the reason why he had fallen in love with her. Lisa loved Mathias very dearly despite his views on life and they would eventually have a son together named Adrian. Eventually, rumors started to spread that Lisa's medicinal practices were a form of witchcraft. This caused her to be arrested and sentenced to death by the authorities. Lisa was captured and crucified, an event Adrian witnessed but was prevented from intervening in. As the execution would have traditionally occurred during the daylight hours, Mathias would not even become aware of it until hours later, and when he learned of this, it drove him over the edge. Eventually, he changed his name to Dracula Vlad Tepes and plotted his revenge against mankind for ruthlessly taking away what mattered most to him. 1476: Events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Dracula, angered at humanity for the loss of Lisa, sent his legions against the people of Europe. The church sent many armies in opposition, but none returned. After several months, Dracula's forces had almost completely wiped out the armies sent by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and had conquered whole countries. One night, Isaac, a General in Dracula's army, reported that the Belmont family had started an offense in the west. A vampire hunting descendant of Dracula's old friend, Leon, who went by the name Trevor Belmont, was planning to assault Dracula's castle. Because Dracula was responsible for the death of Leon's betrothed, Sara Trantoul, Leon committed his kinsmen to hunting down and destroying Dracula. Isaac requested the opportunity to face Trevor himself. Instead, he was sent to find Hector, another General who was previously ordered to assassinate Belmont, but had deserted. Dracula planned to meet his old friend's descendant himself and waited for the hunter in his throne room. Dracula eventually faced the vampire hunter along with the rebel, Grant DaNasty, the sorceress Sypha Belnades, and his own son, Alucard, who had chosen to oppose his father. With much effort, the Vampire Lord was finally slain. For the first time in hundreds of years, the immortal Dracula was at last dead, though his scheme to decimate humanity had not ended. With his final breath, he uttered a curse that left the land to rot while poisoning the minds of its inhabitants, who pillaged and scourged it without remorse. 1479: Events of Curse of Darkness A few years later in 1479, Death sought to resurrect Dracula by using the Count's traitorous Devil Forgemaster General Hector as a vessel for Dracula. Because Devil Forgemasters were suffused within Dracula's magic, only they could make suitable hosts for the Count to inhabit. However, they would have to be fully enveloped within the curse that Dracula left behind that was plaguing the land and its people. Though Hector was Death's ideal choice for a body for Dracula's reawakening, he rejected the Curse, causing Death to compromise and use Isaac for the vessel. Isaac was killed in cold blood by Hector, and Death used the corpse to resurrect the Count, causing the first reawakening of Dracula from the dead. Because the resurrection was only partially successful, Hector was able to thwart both Death and Dracula and send the Count back to the grave, as well as nullify his curse, finally freeing the land from its venomous grip. 1576-1591: The Legend of Dracula A century later, Dracula rose again. It was at this time that Dracula's one hundred year regeneration cycle became manifest. Due to the power of Christ weakening every one hundred years, men's hearts grew black with chaos. They sought to resurrect Dracula so that he may cleanse the world. He was brought back in 1576, and because his powers were linked to his castle, his stronghold returned with him. Strengthened from his slumber, the Count resumed his quest for revenge against humanity and began attacking Transylvania with his hordes. Once again, the only ones that could hope to stand against him and his throngs of followers were the Belmont family with their holy whip, Vampire Killer. Castlevania was invaded by Christopher Belmont, and the vampire hunter and Dracula engaged in a death duel. Christopher thought he had sent the Count to his grave, but Dracula turned into mist and feigned death. Though his castle was destroyed, and he was too weakened from the battle to assume his regular form, Dracula would bide his time, waiting for the right moment to strike back against the Belmont family that had caused him so much trouble. Dracula resurfaced fifteen years later in 1591, magically influencing Christopher's son, Soleiyu Belmont, while still trapped in mist form. He planned on using the Belmont to become whole, and he cast a curse on the young vampire hunter that would cause Soleiyu to do his bidding. Christopher Belmont came to the aid of his son, and was forced to battle him. Christopher defeated Soleiyu, and expelled Dracula's presence from his mind. By that time, using the spirits of four elemental castles, Dracula had become whole, and he battled Christopher Belmont for the last time. Christopher was victorious and destroyed Dracula, sending the vampire to sleep for one hundred years. 1691-1698: Seal of the Curse Dracula rose again in 1691 on an Easter night when his followers convened in a monastery to perform the unholy ritual to return him and his castle to the world and plunge mankind into darkness and despair. Dracula was defeated by Simon Belmont, but not without dealing a critical blow to Simon's back, and casting a curse on him. Similar to when he was defeated by Trevor Belmont in 1476, Dracula left a curse on the land before his passing. Though Dracula was dead, he left both Transylvania and Simon Belmont in dire condition. The only way to expel his curse was to collect his remains, resurrect him at the ruins of Castlevania, and destroy him. Dracula's monstrous followers had free reign over many territories in the land while Transylvania was cursed, and they hid the Count's remains in heavily guarded mansions. The weakened Simon Belmont retrieved all of the remains in 1698 and took them back to Dracula's Castle, where he resurrected the Count and defeated him, lifting the curse from the land and from his own body. 1748: Events of Harmony of Dissonance Dracula's remains would wreak havoc in the world again when a young vampire hunter named Maxim Kischine sought out Dracula's remains as a means of proving himself as a hunter. He was envious of the Belmont Clan's status, and wanted to confirm that he was stronger than them by finding the remains of Lord Dracula. Like Simon Belmont fifty years earlier, Maxim retrieved all pieces of the remains in 1748, but possession of Dracula's body parts caused Maxim's mind to split in two, birthing an evil spirit within Maxim. Because Dracula was partially brought back in the world through Maxim, Castlevania reappeared. Because the evil spirit did not have full control of Maxim, the Castle wasn't whole. One half of the Castle was in the earthly realm, while the other half resided in a spiritual realm. The evil Maxim and the original Maxim wrestled for control of the body. Death aided the evil Maxim, because if the evil one took over completely, it would cause the Castles to unite. Death saw Lydie Erlanger, a young maiden whom Maxim cared for, as a means to this. If the evil Maxim partook of the maiden's blood, her sacrifice would provide him the strength he needed to overcome the regular Maxim. Death's scheme was foiled by Juste Belmont, the grandson of Simon Belmont, who exorcized the evil spirit from Maxim by gathering and presenting Dracula's remains. The spirit was drawn to the remains and relinquished its hold of Maxim's body, and materialized as Dracula's phantom. Juste defeated the wraith, which mocked the Belmont Clan's quest as being futile, because Dracula would always return, and they were doomed to hunt him for all eternity. 1792-1797: The Dracula X Chronicles Dracula revived in 1792, one hundred years after his defeat by Simon Belmont. He was brought back by the zealous dark priest Shaft and his congregation, who sacrificed a maiden to resurrect the Count and his castle. When Dracula returned, he dispatched his forces to pillage the land. They kidnapped young women from a village, one being Annette, girlfriend of Richter Belmont. The Count sensed the connection she had with his mortal foes, and, moreover, was taken with her beauty. He offered her immortality so she could rule the world by his side, but she refused him, saying she would rather die. Richter eventually rescued all the maidens from Dracula's clutches, slew Shaft, and defeated the Count. At this time, Dracula had become amused by the never ending cycle he shared with the Belmonts. He knew he would return, so he wasn't dismayed by his defeat. Richter Belmont told him he had no place in the world, but Dracula said that it is not his choice that he continues to return. He comes back through the will of humans that call upon him. Because of that, Dracula asked Richter if he could truly be called evil. As he was disintegrating, he laughed at Richter in full confidence that he would return, and that the Belmont's hunt was vain. Though defeated, Dracula returned five years later in 1797, due to the efforts of Shaft's ghost. This time, it was his son, Alucard, who confronted him. Dracula was somewhat shocked to see his son again and awkwardly tried to convince him to see things from his point of view. He was upset that Alucard constantly sided with the humans, despite everything they had done. He asked Alucard if he had forgotten what the humans did to his mother, Lisa. Alucard said that he would never forget such an atrocity, but unlike Dracula, he did not seek revenge against them, because that is not what his mother would have wanted. Alucard told Dracula that he could not allow him to plague mankind yet again, and the two family members came to blows. Because Dracula's resurrection was not complete, he was defeated by his son. At the end of the battle, Dracula set everything aside and only wanted Alucard to tell him Lisa's final words. Alucard told his father that she said to not hate humans. That if he could not live with them, then at least do them no harm. She also told Alucard to tell his father that she would love him for all of eternity. For the first time in hundreds of years, Dracula was regretful for what he had done. He called out to Lisa to forgive him for his transgressions, and said his goodbyes to his son as he faded away in death. 19th Century: Events of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Dracula rose sometime in the 1800s. After 1797, the Belmont family faded away, and other organizations emerged with the hope of holding back Dracula and his forces in the Belmonts' stead. The most successful group was Ecclesia, due to Barlowe, the leader of Ecclesia, making a breakthrough discovery with the creation of Glyphs, symbols that utilized the power within all things, which the Ecclesia members were able to use in combat. Because of Ecclesia's success, those in positions of power entrusted the organization with Dracula's bodily remains so that they may destroy the remains and hopefully end the scourge of Count Dracula for good. Barlowe developed the ultimate glyph, Dominus, from the remains of Count Dracula. Barlowe used the cover story that Dominus would be used to destroy the Dark Lord, but in truth, Ecclesia's true purpose was to fulfill the wish of mankind, which in Barlowe's mind was the resurrection of Count Dracula. Barlowe's plan was to use Dominus to destroy the seal on the remains that prevented Dracula's reemergence in the world. Barlowe needed someone to host the Dominus Glyphs, and he chose his disciple, Shanoa, who was unaware of the true intent of Ecclesia, and that using Dominus would end her life. Shanoa discovered the truth and defeated Barlowe. The remains of Dracula then surged large amounts of dark energy into Barlowe, which he was able to use to resurrect Dracula at the cost of his own life. After Barlowe sacrificed his life force to the bodily remains, the Dark Lord and his castle returned yet again. Shanoa infiltrated Castlevania and made her way to the Throne Room where Dracula ruled over his castle and subjects. Initially, Dracula thought that Shanoa was the one that brought him back, and asked her if she wished for eternal life or a place at his side in return for her service. Shanoa told the Count that she had in fact gone there to destroy him. Dracula was amused by her response and welcomed her challenge, telling her that he had not danced in a while. Shanoa's own power was not enough to destroy Dracula, but when she used the Dominus Glyphs that she was hosting, to the Count's surprise; she was able to defeat Dracula with his own power, sending him to his death. 1820-1852: Subsequent Resurrections In 1820, Dracula was again resurrected but was sealed away by Morris Baldwin, and prosperity was secured during the following ten years. Eventually, Carmilla awoke from her slumber and sensed that it was time to aid in Dracula's resurrection. She prepared a ritual in an old Austrian castle that would break the seal that was put on her master. After Morris received word of this, he rushed to Carmilla's castle along with his two apprentices, Nathan Graves and Hugh Baldwin, where he would confront the newly risen Vampire Lord. Dracula immediately recognized Morris as the one who had put an end to him ten years prior and separated Hugh and Nathan from him by plunging them into the deep caverns underneath the castle. Dracula then planned to drain Morris' life in order to regain his full power, but had to wait until the moon was full for the rite to be completed. Nathan, who was determined to save his master, reached the Throne Room and was able to rescue the old vampire hunter. Hugh quickly took his father away while Nathan stayed to confront Dracula. When the battle was over, Nathan stood victorious. In 1844, Dracula's followers were plotting to revive him once again by sacrificing a young maiden and spilled her blood over their Lord's remains. This time, the man-beast Cornell stood up against Dracula who was lured to the vampire's castle because his sister Ada was captured and brought there. After Dracula was defeated, he tried to drag Cornell's sister with him as a last act of revenge. Harnessing all of his strength, Cornell sacrificed the spirit of his wolf form in order to smash the crystal and save his sister therein, the wolf's spirit was effectively substituted as her replacement, and Dracula gladly made use of this power in order to plan his next scheme. By using the power of Cornell's wolf spirit, Dracula was able to survive, but he had to take the appearance of a child, as he still needed to recover. He took the name Malus, and pretended to have been kidnapped in order to come close to the vampire hunters who opposed him, Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez. The vampire pretended to be chased by a monster from which he was saved by Reinhardt, and for this act Malus thanked him. Malus would continue to lurk about while acting more and more suspicious and played cat-and-mouse with the young heroes. After enduring many struggles, Reinhardt and Carrie arrived at the castle keep. Dracula appeared from behind and began to attack but would eventually fall. The two struggled to escape the crumbling castle and would eventually meet up with Malus. The boy would declare that he was actually Dracula reborn and that the vampire the two fought earlier was merely his servant, Gilles de Rais. The three battled, but Dracula was eventually brought down to his knees and turned to mist. Malus suddenly materialized and pretended to have been possessed. Before Reinhardt and Carrie came close to him, Malus was hit with holy water which engulfed his flesh. An arriving Charlie Vincent explained that Malus was the real Dracula and that his childlike appearance was a trick. His plan thwarted again, the Dark Lord used his remaining power to transport Reinhardt and Carrie to a different realm and turned into an enormous demon. Despite his efforts, Dracula was defeated once again and his plan was ruined. 1917-1944: World Wars Dracula would be resurrected some time later by unknown means prior to the events of Bram Stoker's Dracula, during which time he would travel to London and enter into conflict with Abraham Van Helsing, only to be killed by Quincey Morris in 1897. Quincey's son, John Morris, confronted Dracula during World War I, alongside Eric Lecarde, when Dracula was resurrected through the efforts of his niece, Elizabeth Bartley, and her accomplice, Drolta Tzuentes. Elizabeth had the Crown Prince of Austria assassinated, which resulted in war breaking out across the world. She planned to use the souls of the millions that died as a result of the Great War to revive her uncle. The resurrection rite took the two women all across Europe, and they were chased every step of the way by two vampire hunters - John Morris, the son of Quincey Morris who carried the Belmont family's Vampire Killer whip, and Eric Lecarde, a revenge seeking Spaniard whose girlfriend was vampirized by Elizabeth. The hunt came to a head at Elizabeth's castle in England, where she and Drolta succeeded in resurrecting Dracula. The reawakening of the Dark Lord was short lived, however, as John and Eric scaled the castle and killed Elizabeth, Drolta, and Dracula himself. Though Dracula was slain, John paid the ultimate price as well, and died from his dependency on the Vampire Killer whip. Since he was not of the Belmont family, using the whip too much came at the cost of his life. In 1944, Dracula was revived again by the vampire Brauner and as a result of the unprecedented state of despair the world was in during World War II. Brauner, having lost his daughters in the first World War, sought revenge on humanity and planned on using Dracula's power as a means to that. Brauner immediately sealed Dracula away, as he only desired Castlevania's power and legions of monsters for himself, and had no intention of serving Count Dracula. Brauner used paintings he made that were inundated with magic to secure his control of the castle. Jonathan Morris, the son of John Morris and the keeper of the Vampire Killer whip, and his ally, a magician named Charlotte Aulin, were dispatched by the Church to investigate the castle, and the possible resurrection of Count Dracula. Through Charlotte's understanding of the paintings' magical composition, the duo was able to enter the paintings and destroy the evil within them, thus weakening Brauner's hold of the castle. Jonathan and Charlotte defeated Brauner, but the vampire was ultimately slain by Death. The death of Brauner relinquished the seal he had used to keep Dracula from returning, and with him gone, the Count was resurrected again to assume lordship of his castle. Jonathan now had the power to destroy Dracula outright, and just as he had brought him his knees, the first rays of the sun entered through the window, vanquishing the Vampire Lord. 1999: Demon Castle Wars The final resurrection of Dracula took place in 1999, when he rose one last time, and began a vicious campaign to destroy all of mankind. He was defeated by Julius Belmont, a Hakuba priest, Alucard, and a Belnades, and his bodily remains destroyed. Furthermore, a ceremony was conducted in which his powers and castle were sealed away inside a solar eclipse, thus finally ending Dracula's regeneration cycle. Though the cycle of Vlad Tepes, or Mathias Cronqvist, may have at last ended, the legacy of Dracula continued, as he was reincarnated as Soma Cruz. Depiction Dracula has been depicted many different ways over the course of the series. His appearance changes in nearly every game he is in. In the earliest titles, Dracula has a rather ethereal appearance, presenting himself as a very decayed and aged man with a long red cloak in the original Castlevania on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This look was taken even further in Vampire Killer, where he has no flesh on his body and his bones are exposed. In Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, he greatly resembles Death. He is shrouded in a black mantle and his face is that of a skull. His in-game depictions are very different from his appearance in the official art for those games, which display him as a more atrocious version of the Béla Lugosi vampire stereotype with a widow's peak hairstyle. He reflects this image in such games as Haunted Castle and Akumajo Dracula X68000, in which he wears a tuxedo with a cape. Sometimes Dracula sports a dark sorcerer like appearance with long flowing robes as seen in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and Castlevania: The Adventure. In Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Dracula appears as a young man with purple hair. Aside from displaying certain Japanese anime clichés, he still wears attire like he did in earlier games, like a tuxedo and a long dark cloak. When Ayami Kojima became the regular illustrator of the series, Dracula took on an especially regal air with lavish clothing, as seen in Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, and Curse of Darkness. Dracula's appearances have been very inconsistent over the years. Sometimes he is an old man, other times he is young; sometimes he's ghostly, other times he appears fairly regular, but he always retains vampiric archetypical traits. As a human, Dracula was Mathias Cronqvist, a young man with long dark hair and light blue eyes. Personality Dracula has shown a certain level of inconsistency regarding his personality, although common elements have been an outstanding malice regarding the human race and God, and a well defined superiority complex (he thinks every creature is inferior to him) when confronting his enemies. When facing his son, Alucard, Dracula shows a softer side, and a clear love for his son, and also expresses his eternal love for Alucard's mother as well. After his death in 1797, Dracula becomes much more consistent, and seems devoid of many emotions, though the hostility and superiority complex still remain. Powers and Influence Origins Count Dracula is an immortal vampire holding the position of Dark Lord, who draws upon the power of Chaos and is looked upon as the King of the Night and the embodiment of evil. Many lesser creatures of darkness and obsessive humans are fanatically devoted to him, and subscribe to the belief that he will cleanse the world from its sullied state and bring about a new order. Their belief in this is so strong that until his regeneration cycle ended in 1999, Dracula was certain to return after death due to his servants yearning for him. Because of this, Richter Belmont accused Dracula of stealing the souls of men and their freedom. Dracula rebutted that freedom is always sacrificed to faith and asked Richter if he was truly before him by choice. Earlier in the same conversation Dracula said that the world invited him to return, with humanity calling him with praise and tribute. In some of his earlier conceptions, as mentioned in the Japanese manual to Akumajō Densetu (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse), Dracula was a passionate demon worshiper who sold his soul and that of his son, Alucard, to a commanding demon in exchange for his power. This idea was never touched upon later on, and seemingly conflicts with successive developments, such as the origin of Dracula's power as explained in Lament of Innocence, and Dracula's son, Alucard, having gained his power after Dracula was already a vampire, thus inheriting it from his father, as explained in Symphony of the Night. The Crimson Stone Dracula's power ultimately came from his possession of the Crimson Stone, which he never lost. With it, he absorbed the soul of a dominant vampire lord, Walter Bernhard, thus gaining his powers. Dracula came to resemble Walter by having his own magical castle, legions of monsters, as Walter did before him, and even using some of Walter's attacks. Furthermore, Dracula's ability to repeatedly return from the dead may have been inherited from Walter Bernhard, as after being defeated by Leon Belmont, Walter said that with his powers, he would surely come back to life. The Demon Castle The origin of Dracula's Castle, which is said to be the symbol of his demonic power in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, is not known, and it is also unknown if it has any link with Walter Bernhard's castle. Ideally, it seems more likely that Dracula gained ownership of the Bernhard estate when he claimed his soul in the Crimson stone, thus forming Walter's powers with Mathias's souls, along with a spiritual contract claiming the castle. Historically though, it is also logical to believe that Dracula constructed his castle somewhere in between the events of Lament of Innocence (1094) and Dracula's Curse (1476), which is around the time when Vlad the Impaler (the real life Dracula) ruled. It is not stated entirely, but how Dracula is able to gain control over monsters is shown in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula, inherits his power of dominance over the creatures of the night. However, his influence over mankind is never fully stated, but can be logically debated and assumed. If one follows the original Bram Stoker novel and film, Dracula may have gained his legions of followers through hypnotic abilities; on the other hand it may be that he is merely a charismatic and highly persuasive individual. During his time as the Dark Lord, he may have tricked humans into believing that he would be its true savior, or perhaps is merely held in high esteem by satanic cults. In Battle Dracula has displayed great powers in battle. These include, but are not limited to the ability to spawn fire in various forms, such as simple balls of flame or burning meteor-like spheres; control over bats and other creatures of the night; the ability to transform into a wolf, mist, a bat, or other, more hideous forms to heighten his powers; a vast array of acidic Blood Magic; among other powers, such as teleportation. He also has the Power of Dominance, which allows him to absorb the souls of monsters and use their abilities as his own, Devil Forging, which creates loyal minions from wisps of conjured matter, and he is highly adept at the secret art of Alchemy and is a genius tactician. In Castlevania Judgment, Dracula's special attack, called Demonic Megiddo, proves how much destructive force Dracula can throw out. Relatives Alucard and Lisa Through his union with the human Lisa, Dracula had a son. His son would be born Adrian Farenheits Tepes, but would be later known as Alucard. Despite emulating his father early in his life, Alucard decided that he did not want to follow in his father's evil footsteps and battled with him many times. It is said he chose the anagram "Alucard" ("Dracula" spelled backwards) for his new name as a symbolic gesture, meaning he would go against his father's doings from that point on, like a kind of "anti-Dracula". When exactly Dracula fathered Alucard, and when he knew Lisa, for that matter, is unclear, although it is known to be before the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Although, even if Alucard would fight his father, Dracula still loves his son and he is quite fond of him. Soma Cruz, Reincarnation In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, it is revealed that the main character, Soma Cruz, is in fact a reincarnation of Dracula. In the year 1999, Julius Belmont, the modern day member of the Belmont clan was finally able to defeat Dracula for good and seal away his Castle. As well as having many of his tremendous powers (which Soma unlocks through the course of the game), Soma bears a striking resemblance to Mathias Cronqvist, the original human form of Dracula which started it all. However, as evidenced by his polar opposite color motif (Mathias was predominantly dressed in black with red trim and aura, while Soma is dressed in a white coat with blue trim and aura), Soma may be considered as a second chance for Mathias in a new life: by choosing to go down a different path when the truth is revealed. His journey continues in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. While Soma is his own entity, he is also technically a continuation of Dracula, albeit in reincarnated form and as a protagonist. However, it is argued by fans whether he is truly the same character in a new life or a different character altogether who just happens to have inherited Dracula's power. Dark Lord Candidates Apart of Soma Cruz, three other people were considered as potential Dark Lord Candidates: Graham Jones, Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Blinov. Unlike Soma, the candidates found place in sharing their birthdays with the day of Dracula's death in 1999. Other Appearances ''Castlevania Judgment'' Dracula makes an appearance in the game Castlevania Judgment. This is the first time that Dracula appears as a playable character (not counting his possible "reincarnation" Soma Cruz or the parody "Kid Dracula", who might be Alucard instead). His battle theme is "Dance of Illusions". In Judgment, Dracula is summoned into a time rift by Aeon, along with a number of his enemies and his allies Carmilla and Death. In his story, Dracula takes advantage of the time rift to get revenge on many of the people who defeated him, including Simon and Trevor Belmont. After fighting and defeating most of the others in the rift, including Aeon, Dracula encounters the Time Reaper, a being sent by his rival Galamoth to wipe him from history. In the ensuing battle, Dracula is victorious, therefore securing his existence. ''Pachislot Akumajo Dracula'' series Notes *Although Dracula in the original Castlevania series is based on Count Dracula from [[Wikipedia:Dracula|Bram Stoker's Dracula]], it is clearly established he is actually Vlad III Dracula (the real-life inspiration of Count Dracula) as mentioned in the instruction booklet of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. However, this was later retconned and made so Dracula was Mathias Cronqvist in the first place, according to the official material of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. **It is interesting to note that Mathias Cronqvist's name is based on Matthias Corvinus, the Hungarian king who was the second degree cousin to Vlad III. He was originally an ally of Vlad, but later imprisoned him for a while before Vlad married Mathias' cousin. *The word "Dracula" literally means "Son of the Dragon", a diminutive of the epithet Dracul carried by his father, Vlad II, who in 1431 was inducted as a member of the Order of the Dragon. Due to Biblical references, in Modern Romanian the word drac has adopted the meaning of "devil" (the term for "dragon" now being balaur or dragon). This has led to misinterpretations of Vlad's epithet as characterizing him as "devilish". See also * Dracula Artwork * Dracula's Castle * Dracula-Like Enemies * Related characters ** Elisabetha Cronqvist ** Lisa ** Alucard ** Soma Cruz ** Graham Jones * Gabriel Belmont * ''Dracula'' (novel) External Links * de:Dracula Category:Animated Dracula's Curse Characters Category:Belmont's Revenge Bosses Category:Belmont's Revenge Characters Category:Bloodlines Bosses Category:Bloodlines Characters Category:Captain N Characters Category:Castlevania 64 Bosses Category:Castlevania 64 Characters Category:The Adventure Characters Category:Castlevania I Bosses Category:Castlevania I Characters Category:Chronicles Bosses Category:Chronicles Characters Category:Circle of the Moon Bosses Category:Circle of the Moon Characters Category:Curse of Darkness Bosses Category:Curse of Darkness Characters Category:Curse of Darkness Manga Characters Category:Dracula Relatives Category:Dracula X Bosses Category:Dracula X Characters Category:Dracula's Curse Bosses Category:Dracula's Curse Characters Category:Haunted Castle Bosses Category:Haunted Castle Characters Category:Judgment Characters Category:Legacy of Darkness Characters Category:Legends Bosses Category:Legends Characters Category:Literary Monsters Category:Order of Ecclesia Bosses Category:Order of Ecclesia Characters Category:Order of Shadows Bosses Category:Order of Shadows Characters Category:Pachislot Characters Category:Portrait of Ruin Bosses Category:Portrait of Ruin Characters Category:Resurrection Characters Category:Rondo of Blood Bosses Category:Rondo of Blood Characters Category:Simon's Quest Bosses Category:Simon's Quest Characters Category:Storyline Elements Category:Super Castlevania IV Bosses Category:Super Castlevania IV Characters Category:Symphony of the Night Characters Category:Syousetsu Akumajyo Dracula Characters Category:The Arcade Bosses Category:The Arcade Characters Category:The Battle of Old Castle Characters Category:The Medal Characters Category:The Vampire Hunters Characters Category:Time Travelers Category:Vampire Killer Bosses Category:Vampire Killer Characters Category:Vampire Masters Category:Vampires Category:Villains Category:Worlds of Power Characters Category:Characters Category:The Adventure Bosses Category:Flying Enemies Category:Dracula